Mine car



March 3l, 1953 H. F. FLOWERS MINE CAR Filed Sept. 30. 1946 '7Sheets-Sheet 1 vtowags.

March 31, 1953 Filed sept'. 5o, 194e H'. F. FLowERs 2,633,089

MINE CAR '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 3l, 1953 H. F. FLowERs 2,633,089

MINE CAR Filed sept. so. 194e v sheets-sheet 3 March 31, 1953 H. F.FLowl-:Rs 2,533,089

MINE cm Filed Sept. -50. 1946 7 Shntshnt 4 @fg-a 6 ffenryjbri Mowers.

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March 3l, 1953 H.,F. FLOWERS 2,633,039

MINE cAR Filed Sept. 30, 1946 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 fh! ahi;

im *ii l I- 16 E 2? gf# ll if 22 Q N HIIHV-i ""3 "zo J/ I f \4 y 24 Z1awww/tov Jfewy br Flowers.

March 31, 1953 H. F. FLowr-:Rs 2,633,089

MINE CAR K Filed Sept; 30. 1946 7 Sbeetq-Sheet 6 Z2 gYwvM/o Henry FerlFlowers.

, amm n March 3l, 1953 H. F. FLowERs l MINE cAR '7v Sheets-Sheet 7 Filedsept. so, 194e Patented Mar. 31, 1953 l-T ED- STAT PATENT oFFIicE;

MINE CAR.

Henry FrtFlowers, Findlay,v `h10 Applicationiseptember 30, 1946',SerialNoOOl;

` In Greatiritain November i7; 1945.-

61,.Cla.ms.. `(Cl. 1054-180),-

`'lheinvention relatesto newliand useiulaim:

proverrientsfinzimine cars andighas for.v a ,purpose to provide amine`car having alarge capacity` with limitedpverall dinfiensions which cariiS capable Aofxnegotiating sharp vradius .cilrvesuwhile traveling atcomparatively-high speed .over mine 1 and .riveting` so'.a'stoiformazerigidlstructure hay:- i

.a .central Well: vto increase. the carrying-` capacityf for'fa; car.;relatively low in height;

fmtheri object iofsthenvention is toprovide armineicarioftheaboveftypewherein,the body is mounted on .independent tandem. trucks,hav-

ing three.motionsetomswingiabout .arverticalaxis aroundnnrves, totoscillate in ias. longitudinal ver-- tical .plane when; traveling jover, uneven track-s,

and;` to; move bodily vertically.4 under spring .Y *controh Afurther.:object ofitheinvention. is L toi` utilize .n

for al mounting rf-orf the.: trucks; theheavy floor plates-at the. endsof .thecanA towhiclnking .posts ane.` directly.l connectedf :by weldingLand riveting.

Af.further object-is to provide.. azsingleztie, barn` connectingopposed; trucks; whiehwxisn disposed adjacent the center of'theg-cargseastto .provide .space'forthe coupler anditsfdraft gear.

A furtherxobj ect. of `the :invention V:is'nto provide' amine ear` ofVtheabovetypefwherein the-,tie vbar isxrelativelyxshortiand. whereinstops are mounted onv thetbdyl. of; the. car andpare: .so disposed.. as;to: limit the turning. movements: of l; the;I trucks,

aboutsventical axes..

These .andother objects v:will zin partibeobvious;v and: wilhin'zipartbehereinafter more fu1ly.dis:.-y closedi the; drawings which show: by-4way. of; illustration one .embodiment of the; invention,

Figuren ,a plan view rofra-fmine car. embody-l ingthe improvements Awith the heavy.. end plates removed :.Aforf; the f purposes fof-Lshowingrth-e trucks Y.

and v. associatediking posts onswhich `the :bodyismounted; '1

Figure la'. isala;` side viewoi -thefmine car;

Figure -ilb'is an `isometric View of v"the-mine *car f from below, withcouplers, trucks', and brake rige gingremovedt for the purposeof showingmore `clelfrlygtliegeneral construction ofj the body of? Figure 3 is aside view of one end,ofi the mine car;

Figure 4 is .apartial.endiviewoithe minecar;

Figure 5 .is afviewof the opposed ,trucks atione 5 .n end .of the caronwhich the Ibody is mounted and also showingthe tie bar. connectingvthetrucksk andthe .brake mechanism;

Figure .Sisan end view of the .trueksshowingf the .brake cage and itsmounting on. wheeL Lg? truck i rame and .the .-tie. vbarficonneeting,the, sama; and `also...slf1owing vthe heavy Yiloortplateion which! theking. posts .are mounted;

` Figure v'I isV a.. view.partia11y;. inside.elevation,`A andpartiallyin vertical sectionnthrough the hotly.v

R supporting vmeans showingthe condition. of2 the. Dsprings supportingthe bodyhnder a,heavy,-load;. .Figure'la is adetailshowingithe conditionof the springs .supporting-the body. under. `a, slight;

load; and` 20,y Eigure,isasectional viewtonithe line lli-8904i., Figureshowingdonan .enlargedscaleftheconfnection between thetie. ,bar `and theloiakesup; portingibracket .and a1so..showing the connection.

to the. tie bar. :for twisting` .the same to operate] the brakes.

The mine car includes abody" which is con: structed of,` plates ofrectangularhape. These' plates are connectedby welding andriveti-ng to..provide avery :cigidbodyr structure. 'Ifhe loudly,v includes sideplatesl, I and' endplatesv 2, 2;..

301- There is; a` heavy rend. plate; 3Lextending. from one sideof. the..car tov theother, beneath which.L arethe supporting trucksior thebody.`There. is asimilar heavy,4 endplatetat the other., endf of thelcar. Inbetweenthe..endplatesis awelLf ;,'I'hesidep1ates l have straightlowenedges;` extending from enditoendf of V.the body. The.. bottom wellplatesv 4; :.4 have l.their edges curved upward. to.f orm aroundcorner.: and extend upfward .to..- formA theside plates1 of* the well.and 1 Theserfloor plates.

4, .li rare. joined to J,the `heavy; plates 3 byf vertical -r plates.5;v These 'vertical plates n forming.; the ends K of.. the. well ,serveas; .transverse`v beam-si v.hai/,ing the, eiiect ,of` a z-bar, i withLthe y end floor.;.platel 45.-, forming.. one t leg` of `.theiZ-bar.`and the well. floor,-

40 i. connect to side plates. I, I; n

plate. forming. thei other. legi Of theyy Z-.ban

The emeeting: edges oi thepIates are :connected l by` folding.,one ofthe ,plates andA by welding or riveting the .plates together; Thezendplates.- are angedior bentto form `.beveled cornersjas indi.- cated...at.15,6I so, .Y as to `Vprovide room; at onefside;-v for a'brake.operating vleverandito provide .a ,step

ateach corner and Jclearancebetweenmanswhen 90.1`1p1ed.qna.-curve. Thisprovides afbedawhim. 1S Veri'A Simple in construction. and; which .f is;.01,5

relatively large carrying capacity and at the same time is greatlylimited in overall dimensions, with a minimum space required for trucks,draft springs, couplers, and brake mechanism.

The body is carried by wheel trucks. There are two independently mountedwheel trucks at each end of the car. They are similar in constructionand the description of one will answer for the others. Each wheel truckincludes side frames 'I which are formed of heavy plates. These sideplates are connected together by transverse angle plates 8, 8 and asemi-cylindrical gimbal supporting plate 9. These plates are weldedtogether and to the side plates, thus making a very rigid wheel frame.There are wheel axles or spindles IU, II) extending from one side of theframe to the other on which are mounted flanged wheels II, II. Thesewheel axles or spindles are rigidly connected to the side members andfurther aid in the forming-of a rigid wheel frame structure.

Mounted on the gimbal supporting member 3 is a body supporting member orgimbal I2. Carried by this body supporting member is a hardened steelsleeve I3. A king post I4 of hardened steel fits operatively within thesleeve and the sleeve I3, together with the body supporting member andthe truck, is free to oscillate on the king post about a vertical axis.The king post can move up and down in the sleeve I3. The king post isalso'provided with a dust guard I5 to seal the dirt away from the closefit between the king post and the gimbal or body supporting member. Theking post I4 and the dust guard I5 are welded to a plate I6 which, inturn, is welded and riveted to the heavy end oor plate 3;k The gimbal orbody supporting member is curved to conform to the inner face of thegimbal supporting member 9 and the truck frame can shift on this body-supporting member and thus oscillate in a longitudinal vertical planewhen the wheels are traveling over uneven tracks. Mounted in the bodysupporting gimbal I2 is an abutment thrust pivot plate I'I provided witha central upstanding hub around which is disposed a coil spring I8.

Outside of the coil spring I8 is a heavy spring I9; The upper end of thelight spring bears against the iioor plate 3 and the upper end of theheavy spring bears against an abutment sleeve 20 which in turn bearsagainst the plate lli..V These springs are so dimensioned that underlight load the body will be supported on the light spring and the heavyspring abutment sleeve will be out of engagement with the plate I6. Whena heavy load is carried, then both springs function to support the body.

From the above it will be apparent'that the body is so mounted on thewheel trucks that the trucks may have three motions. One, they may swingabout a vertical axis when passing around curves; two, they mayoscillate in a vertical plane when traveling over uneven tracks; andthree, the body may move vertically under spring control relative to thetrucks. As noted, the wheels are in tandem on each truck and are flangedso -that the front wheel of the Voutside truck, when following a curvedtrack leading to the left, will turn the truck about a vertical axis sothat it will follow the curved track. The opposed trucks -at each end ofthe car are connected by a tie bar 2I so that the turning movement ofone truck about a vertical axis will be` imparted to the opposed truck.The trucks and the body mounting above described are not claimed herein,per se, but Aare shown, described 4 and claimed in my copendingapplication Serial No. 660,990, led April 10, 1946, now U. S. Patent No.2,602,401.

Mounted on the side frames l, 'I is a brake shoe supporting bracket 22.This bracket is provided with depending members 23, 23 at one endthereof which members are pivotally connected to the side member by apivot pin 24. There are also depending members 24, 25 at the other endof the brake shoe bracket which are likewise 'pivoted to the other sidemember of the truck frame.

The brake supporting bracket has parallel spaced arms 26, 26 rigidlyattached thereto, which arms carry a brake shoe 21 which is mounted on apivot bolt 28 extending through the arms 26, 26.

A The brake shoe bracket 22 has laterally extending members 29, 29 andthe tie bar is connected to the brake shoe bracket by means of abarrelshaped'pin 30 having tapered ends 3|, 32 which t the upper andlower members 29, 29 vof the brake shoe bracket. 'Ihis pin 30 ishardened and engages a bushing 33 which is mounted in the tie bar and arubber seal 34 is provided at each end of the bushing to prevent waterand dust from working into the connection between the pin and thebushing.

This universal connection between the tie bar` a cantilever swivel pin35 is located in the tie.

bar adjacent one end thereof. A link 36 is connected at 31 to the upperend of this swivel pin and is connected at 38 to a brake operating lever39 fulcrumed at 40 on the floor plate 3. lever 39 is pivoted at 4I to atriangular shaped plate 42. connected at 43 to a link 44 which in turnis connected to a hand operated lever 45. This hand operated lever ispivoted at 46 and is adapted to engage a toothed rack 41 which holds thelever in a set position.

The braking mechanism applied to the truckl at the rear end ofthe bodyis similar in construction to that which has been described aboveA inconnection with the trucks at the front end.

of the body and similar reference letters have been applied thereto. Thelever 39 of the rearv braking mechanism is connected to a rod 48 whichextends along the side of the car and is pivoted at 49 to the plate 42.When the handv lever is operated for setting the brakes it willv swingthe plate 42 either on the pvot pin connection 4I to the brake lever 39as a fulcrum, or on the pivot pin 49 connecting the plate 42 to the rod48. One or the other` of .the brake shoes may be pressed against the rimof its associated,- wheel and this will become a fulcrum so that'v theother brake shoe will be pressed against the;-

rim of its associated wheel. By this arrangement a uniform-pressure ofthe brake shoes on the rims of the wheels can be obtained. It is notedVthat the pivot pins joining the `brake shoe sup-. porting bracket to thetruck frame are so disposed that the center of gravity of the Vtie bar"and the brake cage as a whole is toward the center of the car relativeto this pivotal conv nection, and, therefore, the brake shoes tend tostand clear of the wheel by the action of gravityA on the tie bar. I

It also permits the tie bar to be.

This

The triangular shaped plate 42 it is: aise mascherine cenaarfisvrennvenz sliorti As the-trucks follow 'tliefcurvedtrack-Rand`the canti-lever swivel pinndescrib'es al denlte approximately circularpath and the centeroiv curvature of this circular' pathvdet'erminestl'le normalf location loi the" connection between theylinkSG and the lever 39. In Figures 1 andtZlL-of` the drawings thiscurvedpath'lis 'shown-in dotted lines'land lthe v`lin-krimiinflifigure1' i'srat .the'fcer-Iteri of fvits 4laterad vtravel while fin' Fig-ureZit'fisiin' ione?.

extreme of Iits -lateral swing.4 "Il-ieswinging ofthe trucks,vtherefore, does' not linkanyl waytering"abnuty a twisting movementofltheatie bar.

The brake lever 4512is made of spring steel .,-sou

that'itiwill provide iiexbili-tyto theapplicationzof the brakesiandpermit theoperator-to tightentlfxeV brakes` -to the desired amount'fev-ent` when. the notchesin the 'plate 4T Vare spaced a'limitedLdise-A tance from. e'achz other. 'This` springing ofi tlie brake levericompensates :for any.- slight lerrors in a vertical plane withoutaffecting the braking mechanism andiattnezsame'tim-ethe brakes may be.applied equally efficiently when the car` is traveling on a tangenttrack oro'n 1a' curved track.

The braking mechanism describedabove" is not claimed hereiniperfsefbut-lis shown, ldescribed and claimed in my PatentsNo.` 2,461,263,granted- February, 1949.

Y fIn order to limit Ythe turningmovements `of the trucks `on theirvertical axes,.-stops-50 and ytil are prcvidedzon the tie bar guard.onthe under side of the bodylgagainst which the inner side .frame ofthetruck contacts for limiting the inward turning of the trucks. Thereare alsorstops52 and 53 mounted on the body plate 5 which are engaged bythe ends of the side members of the wheel frame which likewise limit theturning movements of the trucks about vertical axes. When the mine caris traveling around a curve to the left, as indicated in Figure 2, theIiange of the forward wheel of the outside truck engages the outer railand guides the car around the curve which may be of a very short radius.The wheel frame will be limited in its turning movement when it contactswith the stop 50. The centrifugal force of the car body transmitted tothe truck frame through the king post tends to force the flange of therear wheel of the outside truck against the rail. However, the truckframe of the inside truck will engage a stop 53 and through the tie barwill limit the turning of the outside truck and likewise the stop 52will engage the inside member of the truck frame and limit the outwardswing of the outside truck. These stops 52 and 53 are positioned a shortdistance inside of lines a-a and b-b of Figure 2 which lines areparallel and pass through the axes of the trucks. Therefore the stopsare a shorter distance apart than the axes of the trucks. The angularityof the tie bar on a curve pulls the tie bar ends of the truck closertogether than the outer ends of the trucks and these stops are set inthe manner stated so that on a curve both trucks will be stopped. It isof considerable advantage to have each one of the trucks positivelystopped at the same time to reduce the shock on the tie bar. This willalso havethe effect of causing the truck to stay on the track in casethe tie bar should break in two or be disconnected from the trucks. Thebody stops at the end of the well serve thedoublepurpcsezeofiengagmgmheasldedramemltenenatelywh'en;swinging:invoppnsiteedirectionseandc alcngfwith:thevheavyxtrueksstops :adjacentvthei endofthecanwhicn.tramsmititheextremenshocks alsorholditheztruek.nearenoughmarajllelitoznhef Y track :to zmake! itweasyatolvrerail'tthezcaraftenitti.

has'ioeenderailed:

1t will 'benoted ITi'ilfiat".ntheiftienearfall isiclosef:

the cross wall 5 of the well and this leavesmmple.-

space zbet'weeni the"y Well;` andi thelendxmf he :car for thecoupling-@andndrawfibarrtofwhlch levata tached.Theacouplingrsl;Figure1f2,Lisfconnected to a draw-barf 551 on* whichIarefinountedheiressmembersv 56,A '56 l-extending'= between'silliememhers-i 51, L51. Bei-,Weencrossnier-moers'25155156 flisaspring.

58""preloaded by tighteningthe nut. 591ml @the threa'ded'.-end:lofdrawfbar i551, Stops: are-profvide'd fon :sill :membersvih 51.to'=limit' maxi 1num coupler longitudinal travel.v This provides @afcompact and' efcientlfshock Y absorbing ymeuntiI-rg' for the couplingand "drawfbar -associatedf there-- with beneath the floor plate and'between-fthe* trucks.

- yIt isfobvious*thatimanychanges the ldetails of 'construction 4mayleelmade'without'departing'y from the'spiritoftlieinventionasset iforth:inthe appended lfclaims.

1. A mine kcar comprising ai body' formed of sheet steel plates'secureditogetherrbyweidingor riveting, opposed independent tandem'`wheel' trucks at each'endlthereofeon Whichsaid bodyis supported,` Vsaidbody between the forward* and' rear trucksfhavi-ng depending wallsiprovidinga;v load carrying :welll for increasing` the carrying capacity:for 'aegiven voverall lengthvandiheiglit.- of "'car; 4and alsingle-tie-A bar"connecting-fl said nop-l posed trucks and disposed adjacent.said well, each truck including a, rigid wheel frame having spaced sidemembers extending beyond the inner wheels and a stop for each truckmounted on the wall of the well and disposed between the extended sidemembers for engagement therewith for limiting the turning movementrof4the trucks in either direction.

2. A mine car comprising a body formed of sheet steel plates securedtogether by welding or riveting, opposed independent tandem wheel trucksat each end thereof on which said body is supported, said body betweenthe forward and rear trucks having depending Walls providing a loadcarrying Well for increasing the carrying capacity for a given overalllength and height of car, each truck including a frame having spacedside members, a relatively short tie bar connecting said opposed trucksand disposed adjacent said well, a stop carried by the wall of the welland disposed between the side members of each truck for engagementalternately with said side members, said stops being spaced so that bothtrucks are limited in their turning movement in either direction bycontact with the stops associated therewith.

3. A mine car comprising a. body formed of steel plates secured togetherby welding or riveting, opposed independent tandem wheel trucks at eachend thereof on which said body is supported, said body between theforward and rear trucks having depending walls providing a load carryingwell for increasing the carrying capacity for a given overall length andheight of car, the floor plates between the well and the aesaoso.

7 end- Vof 1 thecar.' being Aof relatively heavy steel, depending kingposts rigidly attached to said floor plates on which .the trucks aremounted, and` a single tie bar connectingv said opposed trucks anddisposed adjacent said well; each truck hav-Y ing alight .coil springfor carrying light loads,

and a heavy coil spring of less length associated therewithfor assistingsaid light springs when carrying heavy'loads,.said springs beingldisposed one within the other and centered longitudinally relative tothe kingposts with which they are associated. l 1 f a 4. A minecancomprisingY a body formed of sheet steel plates secured together bywelding or riveting, opposed independent tandem wheel trucks at each endthereof on which said body is supported, lsaid bodybetween the forwardand rear trucks `having depending walls providing a load carrying wellfor increasing the carrying capacity for a` given overall length andheight of ycar, each truck including spaced side mein` bers; and a bodysupport on which the trucks turn about vertical axes, a, single tie barconnecting opposed trucks and disposed adjacent said well, a stopcarried by the front wall of the well and disposed between the sidemembers of each truck, said stops being spaced a distance less than thedistance between the pivotal centers of the truck whereby a side memberof each truck will contact with a stop when the tie bar is turned to anangular position by the swinging of the trucks so as to relieve strainon the tie bar.

5. A mine car comprising a body formed of sheetsteel plates securedtogether by welding or riveting, opposed independent tandem wheel trucksat each end thereof on which the body is supported, said body betweenthe forward and rear truclshaving depending walls providing a loadcarrying well, a tie bar connecting the opposed trucks anddisposedadjacent said well,

each' truck including a frame having spaced side members, a stop carriedby the frame adjacent the end of the car for limiting the inward swingof the outer truck when passing along a curved section of track, and astop carried by the body for limiting the outward swing of said outertruck.

6. A mine car comprising a body formed of sheet steel plates securedtogether by welding or riveting, opposed independent tandem wheel trucksat each end thereof on which the body is supported, said body betweenthe forward and rear trucks having depending walls providing a loadcarrying well, a tie bar connecting the opposed trucks and disposedadjacent said well, each truck including a frame having spaced sidemembers, a stop carried by the frame adjacent the end of the car forlimiting the inward swing of the outer truck when passing along a curvedsection of track, a stop carried by the body for limiting the outwardswing of said outer truck, and a stop carried by said body and limitingthe inward swing of the rear wheel of the opposed truck.

HENRY FORT FLOWERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 578,305 Baines Mar. 2, 18971,905,252 Symington Apr. 25, 1933 2,078,915 Flowers Apr. 27, 19372,286,967 Kepner J'une 16, 1942 2,377,768 Edgar June 5, 1945 2,439,801Flowers Apr. 20, 1948 2,461,263 Flowers Feb. 8, 1949

